12 responses to ““So, you want to talk about the ‘Saban Rule’?””

“What kind of game do we want? That’s the kind of discussion the [rules] committee ought to have.”

Dear God no, that’s NOT the kind of discussion a centralized committee of referees should have. The fact Redding’s saying this shows that despite his denials, he’s accepted Sabans framing of the debate.

I agree with the questions he has raised about pace, but the manner in which idiot Bielema and Saban chose to go about it is comically bad.

I think the more significant aspect of the story is Saban shitting all over himself during this process. For a guy in his position to do what he did wreaks of ego, and that is one of the surest signs to me that the Bama dynasty is over.

Again, if Saban wanted to have a discussion about it, have the discussion around the original question he asked, “is this what we want the game to be? is this fair? etc.”

interestingly, it highlights yet another difference in the way Mark Richt and Saban operate. the rules were changed to stop a strategy that Mark Richt had implemented ahead of others and he complies. A strategy emerges that Saban does not like and he wants the rules changed.

We can debate whether “nice guys finish last” or not, but I certainly believe karma owes Mark Richt and UGA fans a lot of positive pay back! No doubt hiring a competent defensive staff and making the right changes on special teams give karma a better chance of succeeding, but I am absolutely amused at how badly Saban mismanaged his role in the debate. The backlash is nice to see.

Again, the problem with the discussion is timing. If you want to change the rule this season, the only way to do that is by insisting it’s for the purpose of player safety. That’s why Saban did his talking in private and that’s why Bielema is making an ass out of himself in public.

I understand the rule change schedule, and if anything, the process of trying to change the rule makes Saban and Bielema look even worse. It basically highlights that neither has the ability to accept things they disagree with in life and that both would effectively lie to see to it that they get their “way” figuring they could get their way. Isn’t that the definition of hubris?

My guess is in Saban’s planning mind that he can’t wait another year because he may actually be thinking about modifying the type of player he recruits to defend against fast paced teams, and a year of uncertainty only creates the possibility of having to process 5-10 more kids than usual if the rules change……

Bloviation for the Dawgnation

Quote Of The Day

“It brings back a great Bulldog running back in Thomas who has NFL playing experience and has had success as a college coach at multiple schools. He also inherits a position that has been built to an elite level by Bryan. And it gives Bryan the opportunity to return to coaching the position he played and the one where he cut his teeth serving as a graduate assistant under wide receiver coach John Eason here at UGA. It also provides him with a new experience as a passing game coordinator.” -- Mark Richt, AB-H, 2/16/15